Summer Wars US Release

So FUNimation is talking about the English cast now of Summer Wars. I've already got my Blu-Ray pre-ordered. ***YAY***  
Oops... Just check my wishlist... I have Eden of the East Blu-Ray pre-ordered... Equally epic I must say...


Check out the official talk:
http://blog.funimation.com/2010/09/summer-wars-has-people-talking/


More updates soon!

Soul Eater DVD Boxset

Part 1 of 4

What do you do when you are behind the times? Well you watch one anime at a time and hope that someday you catch up to what the rest of your friends are talking about. It seems that the Soul Eater anime is still making waves albeit misleading IMO... Fresh character designs, recycled stories from various other shows, make the Soul Eater anime a great mash-up of familiar stories while not ever giving a direct nod to any one particular show. This is a point I'm not clear how I feel about... Perhaps I feel the Soul Eater anime was trying to make an original splash that could never be?!? Taking this point seriously requires more originality IMO.

On the positive side, there was not one single character that I did not like or think wasn't written or designed well. And that is saying something huge. Even my favorite animes have one or two characters I could easily do without. And I think that is the strongest point the Soul Eater anime brings to the table.

If you can afford the steep price tag to buy the 4 current boxes then hey, go for it. It seems however, that FUNimation has been doing a couple of different things with their anime releases... make a batch and make some money... Make another batch, repackaged and recover some costs... Then squeeze every last drop of milk out of an old cash-cow that they can. In the latter case, you can walk away with a pretty nice discount on an entire series... the only down-side is that there is no guarantee that discounted release a couple years from now will always happen...

Back to Soul Eater now... I would rent it first and if you think it is epic, don't wait for the discounted Soul Eater DVD boxset as I don't see this being a classic. Sure it's been hyped plenty, and I am not an expert on forecasting anime popularity... But if it does get a re-release it will probably be due to the hype only as I'm sure the love will cool off.

Wrap-up: Soul Eater is over-hyped, but still worth watching. The Soul Eater anime failed to inspire me or make me want to add it to the rotation of  "watch-again-stuff". You decide... the preview is actually terrible, but at least you can get an idea of the character designs that I really enjoyed:

Cromartie High School Troll

Cromartie Thin-Pak

Don't you just love/hate the internet? Don't you just love/hate iEverything? Don't you just love/hate the freedom of speech exercised on message boards? Don't you just love/hate Internet Trolls?

Well you all know I love anime. And I love Cromartie High School. This is in my top ten skits taken from the show. If you like this, there is a flawless chance you will like the entire series. The Cromartie High School Thin-Pak can be picked up for around $35 and is a must have for the shelf.

A friend shared the video below with me and when I told him I had the whole anime series on DVD he asked me why I never recommend it to him... anime-friend-fail. For my type of humor, Cromartie High School is a staple if not described as a foundation for my humor and jokes.

If you wondered why I said "love/hate" internet trolls above, the only reason I can say love at all is because I'm sure I've trolled in the past myself, and this video would not exist without Internet Trolls. Enjoy...

Beck anime review

CIC WARNING!

Beck MCS DVD

The anime about to be reviewed contains strong naughty-adult language. 

*The Beck anime silly, not my review! :P

The teenage rock scene painted in Beck the anime aka 'Beck Mongolian Chop Squad' was pretty solid accurate for a fictional story. The emotions that are going through a young musicians veins are all across the board. From emo-and-uninspired, to emo-with-talent and lastly the best of all... Talented and heroic. Sounds like a recipe for hours of nostalgia for old farts or inspiration for those of you in your early teens? Well it is. On both counts.
Keepin' it real, FUNimation did the voice dub in F-bomb-vision. This turned me off a bit... but as my senses were dulled and I relaxed back into my documentary observation chair it started to go down pretty smooth... I guess if I had to direct this anime or supervised the translation of the script, it would have been a tough call, but would have had to keep it real too if I didn't want to alter the truth and the overall accuracy of the scene.

In short, I really enjoyed the Beck anime dvd box set for it's genius writing, touching character development, and making me feel the heroism once again of a style music I'd forgotten from my youth. But more than the style of music, the warm and fuzzy I felt at the end was truly rare and savored. Something I wouldn't have felt or experienced without watching it. You should do the same. This is an anime largely overlooked, and that's a shame, because even though the language was IMO very rough, it made my epic list.
Watch a preview to wet your appetite BTW the preview sucks, sorry:

Initial D Anime

The Initial D Anime is EPIC. I could stop here and that would no doubt lead 9 out of 10 of you to check out this Tokyo Pop re-release brought to us by FUNimation. But I can't help myself, for the 1 out of 10 readers that don't yet trust me when I use the word "epic" read on...

This is one of the few anime dvds that changed my life. Seriously. I was more into off-road 2-wheeling and lifted trucks and rock-crawling (my ancient readers may remember the old pictures archived off-line now) than pavement junkie sports. I used to scoff at my friends that ran from the cops at the local midnight strip and take weekend canyon bombs... Then I watched Initial D. Yep... I sold my 4x4 and bought an FF. ----screeeeeech!-FF-what?!?----  For those of you that watched Initial D already, you may wonder why I didn't go the eight-six route... That is the beauty of this anime... every style of racer, setup and course type is covered. There is something for everyone. I felt like I was going to drifting school during each episode! Don't flame my FF... I know it's not drifting - it's power-sliding... but hey, to each their own. Anyway back to the anime dvd review...

Do you remember how uncute everyone in Akira was? Get ready for round 2 (or maybe I've used this analogy clear up to round 300 by now) of uncuteness of character design... Nah... dare is say... ugly character design? The statement like Akira is made clear from the get-go. The character designer of Initial D obviously doesn't want the audience of this show to be fanboys and fangirls over the characters. They want to engage you with the story, science, physics, cars, cliff-hangers and yes... with a few nods of teenage angst to keep the story realistic to a degree.

But PLEASE don't let my snarks on the uncuteness detour you... Every race brings a new technique, a surprise that builds the main character's (Takumi) driver-charisma level to new peaks all the while staying true to his first car... his Trueno 86. I get goose bumps every time I watch this anime and usually DO "try this stuff at home" - get the car re-painted and tap those guardrails again. But don't be like me... Live vicariously through Takumi and the gang it's safer that way. Check out the preview:

Available at your preferred anime retailer, or for order online at the best online anime store, OtakuFuel

^)^

FMA Blu-Ray

FMA on Blu-ray baby! It's here! It's crispy! Again I shout from the roof-tops, "I love you FUNimation!"

Back in Part 2 of the anime blu-ray set of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood when the moment has finally arrived for fans of Edward and Alphonse Elric as the brothers encounter new characters, dangers, and mysteries in Part Two of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which happens to be "the most anticipated new anime in years" according to Otaku USA.
While I agree this anime is great and totally appreciate the support that FUNimation has given this series (as well as the fans). This is the kind of hype that I feel for lots of anime titles that no one ever seems to mention or even talk about. I guess for now, I'll keep them to myself and the few thousand that have had their eye-lids permanently stitched open.
Enjoy the part 2 trailer from FUNimation which wasn't changed at all from the part 1 trailer except for the box art ;P

New Anime on Blu-ray - Casshern Sins

::No Spoilers::

Casshern Sins parts 1 and 2 blu-ray was just released by my favorite (yes I've decided for today) anime license snatch and bag company - FUNimation.

I've heard a lot of bunk-junk from friends who can't stomach this anime. I have seen the first few episodes, and played with the Casshern character in the Wii Street Fighter crossover... But that has nothing to do with the Blu-ray!! The point is... I really dig on this anime. Casshern has that kiddy cartoony style look to him and even the animation seems like it would be good for a younger audience. But I think that's where the kid-appreciation ends. The concept, the story, the character development is a little too deep for most kids in my opinion.

Casshern is the main character in a post-apocalyptic world that he is responsible for all but creating/destroying... however you wanna look at it... He has no memory of this however, which somehow redeems him in the viewers heart (plus it's just hearsay at this point). As he searches for answers and fights to save the dying... Casshern Sins is brought to you in all it's glory and it is truly beautiful, these fantastic Blu-ray anime dvds are set in two parts. Beautiful 16:9 format to fill up your juicy flat screen and 5.1 surround sound goodness in both English and Japanese (but not at the same time silly). Yep, the average series count'em 24 episodes - 12 episodes each blu-ray set (set 1 and 2) for a total of 24 cokes, 12 pizzas and 1 pee break per dvd swap.

Pick it up anywhere, or be an otaku and get fueled up with Casshern Sins Blu-ray goodness at OtakuFuel.

Not a full coke's worth but still something to wet your appetite:

Black Rock Shooter Blu Ray with LTD ED Petit Nendos

As if we weren't getting enough BRS goodness to save for / hunt-down already, GoodSmile company has up for pre-order through your favorite online anime shops something you see more in the video game world than the anime DVD world... Queue the screen lift and introducing a new blu-ray / petit bundle...

The Black Rock Shooter Blu-ray with Ltd. Ed. Petit Nendos. Moe enough for you? Hey, I'm glad to see the industry trying some creative ways to get peeps back into buying their content instead of just "evaluating" it indefinitely... Bundles are something otaku like myself go for albeit usually - begrudgingly. Yes, you have something I want, and the fact that it's limited makes me want it even more, but it still hurts the billfold each time I give into allowing the collection to grow. But some things are just too good to pass up right? Check a sneak peek:




You can pre-order this BRS bundle of blu-ray and petit goodness until August 23, 2010 at OtakuFuel.com
On which date I suspect this link will self destruct and you'll have to hit the refresh button every 60 seconds on your browser in Feb. to check if there was any extras that are made available.
Link: http://www.otakufuel.com/catalog/black-rock-shooter/black-rock-shooter-blu-ray-limited-edition-ova-with-petit-nendoroids-pre-order-2202011-17549.html

Do you eat, sleepdream, breathe and talk nonstop about BRS?


-end-

Wallflower anime

The Wallflower

Alternative titles:

Perfect Girl Evolution

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (Japanese)

Yamato Nadesico Shichihenge (Japanese)

ヤマトナデシコ七変化♥ (Japanese)

Genres: Comedy, Shoujo

Running time: 25 minutes

Number of episodes: 25 
Licensed by FUNimation

  When I sat down to watch the Wallflower anime, I was a bit skeptical because it is labeled as a "Shoujo" title. Not that I haven't been known to like Shoujo... it's just that there are so many Shonen anime titles out there that I would rather watch, but only have so many hours in the day... Anyhoo, you guessed it, I loved it, so I am writing about it.

  I thought it a bit cold-hearted to start off the series with a sentence handed down to the main character of "owning a repulsive appearance". Ouch. - But it gets worse, she's surrounded by all these super popular and hot guys (that all are drawn like girls IMO) to further remind her of how lacking she is... But this is all necessary to either make you feel right at home (if you are like her) or make you feel comfortable with the truly dark and messed up nature she displays for the rest of the series. If you get the Wallflower DVD Box Set and you didn't bother to understand how it rolls before you got it... Be patient. Once you are in the right seat of observation, that's when the enjoyment begins.

  These hottie boys are charged with her complete make-over being a success or else they get evicted from their pad. If you're thinking this sounds like it might be an anime written by the likes of a cheap talk-show that's my fault... Do yourself a favor and watch the preview:




As much as I liked it, I must qualify that with the writing and the story were the only things that did it for me. It is a tad old so the 4:3 is something you have to live with and the character designs were just not swinging my way... Nonetheless, I still love you FUNimation for bringing me this anime dvd. A-Ree-O-Gato, shweet-art.

Claymore Blu-ray

Claymore Blu-ray DVD box set review. [no spoilers]

 I'm not much for blood and guts even if its purple... usually. Anime like Fist of the North Star, Akira and Elfen Lied I will make exception for. While you're at it... add the anime Claymore on blu-ray to that list... BTW - Unless I get really bored, you'll probably never read a review about an anime that I just didn't like. So clicky, clicky on the right you should find a clicky to add me to your blog-roll.

cool-dark colors ad to the vibe

 The colors the animators were given to work with are in the cooler tones and compliment the dark nature of the story well. The Claymores look kind-of like something Hitler would have a nocturnal-emission over... and all the monsters bleed in excess - you guessed it, purple blood. While the gore is not out of place typically found in the comical-blood-splatter horror genre, I wouldn't necessarily place Claymore in that category. As disturbing (comical - depending on if you are as sick as me or not...) as gushing as the blood of Elfen Lied or Fist of the North Star was, this is on the tame side compared to that... and mostly... purple, fuchsia, hydrangea... whatever.

Hitler-health material

  Purple blood not your thing? Don't worry, there is excellent character development, suspense up the wazoo... and cliff-hangers to keep you up way past your bed-time. Definitely a series to watch with a few Mana potions on hand and 2 days to recover. Don't believe me? I tell you now... You will stay up all night... You will miss work the next day. 

  The cost of this blu-ray may be cheaper than crack at $55 for the Claymore blu-ray box set, but the effects will be the same for the duration of all 26 episodes... This one is a keeper. 13 hours of anime dvd goodness. :)

Series synopsis:

 A brutal scourge stalks the land. Yoma, monsters driven by a hunger satisfied by only one quarry: Humanity. The dark breed knows but a singular foe: Claymore. Human-Yoma hybrids of extraordinary strength and cunning, the Claymores roam from skirmish to skirmish delivering salvation by the edge of a blade. Thus begins the twisting tale of Clare, one such sister of the sword driven by pain in both victory and defeat. A child silent and suffering hidden in her past, Clare's march toward vengeance unfolds along a path marked by violence, solitude and scorn. In a land where even the predator is prey, the haunted hearts of hunter and hunted alike wear the scars of the age.

BTW- Thank you Funimation for bringing this to me... I love you.
  Now eat some guts and watch this preview. Never mind that the preview says coming soon.. It's out now and you can order it now if you want it:

Eden of the East

   My wife may have beat me to blogging about the anime Eden of the East, but I can't resist giving my feedback on it, even though it is pretty much the same. Largely in part that despite the news being launched on this on the internet way back in May... there were MANY of my friends that hadn't even heard of this yet... So in an effort to fix that in at least my circle... Here we are...

  Ahhhh, new anime dvds make me happy. I don't think I have mentioned on my blog yet that I love Funimation. I do. I really do. FUNimation has been there the whole time to support my Anime hobby-addiction-my love etc. I hope that readers like you will continue to support them, because if they go away due to lack of support... it will be a sad, sad day. Anyhoo! That day is not upon us yet as they have something great in store for us Otaku!

Eden of the East Anime DVD Box Set: Complete Collection is being released by Funimation on standard DVD format at the end of this September. But I am even more stoked about the Eden of the East Blu-Ray: Complete Collection! - WOOT! - I'm sure that if it does as well as I anticipate it to, the 2 movies that continue the story will be brought over to the US too!

  I saw this with a few friends the other day in Japanese and can tell you that this is a very worthy anime to watch. While I love watching the predictable slice of life anime just like you and the next otaku does... every now and then I crave something that makes me hit the pause button and ask things like, what the heck was that?!? Did they just do that?!?! How the heck are they gonna make THAT pay-off later?!?

20k naked-NEETS ever want to kill you but you don't know why because you somehow managed to purposely erase your own memory? Got a hot-line to a chick that has the power to make anything you ask her come to fruition? I can't say more without ruining the plot line... But do yourself a favor and resist the temptation to read spoilers as it will totally mess up your experience that was obviously designed to make you say "WHAT?!?" If you can trust me on it... don't even watch the previews or trailers. If you don't want to trust me then this might help you a little... 
The series was originally written and directed by acclaimed director Kenji Kamiyama (“Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, “Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit”) and produced by Production I.G (always anime goodness from them) 
The series was originally written and directed by acclaimed director Kenji Kamiyama ("Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, “Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit”) and produced by Production I.G 
PLUS - FUNimation Entertainment has announced the English cast of the 11-episode original animated series “Eden of The East.” The main cast: 

Akira Takizawa - Jason Liebrecht
Saki Morimi - Leah Clark
Juiz - Stephanie Young
Kuroha Diana Shiratori - Christine Auten
Daiju Mononobe - John Gremillion
Micchon - Stephanie Sheh
Haruo Kasuga - John Burgmeier
Sis - Lydia Mackay
Kazuomi Hirasawa - J. Michael Tatum
Satoshi Osugi - Michael Sinterniklaas
Panties - Newton Pittman

Official trailer by FUNimation:

Home page of OtakuFuel

Massive catalog... this online anime store needs a bookmark on your speed dial.
in reference to: Otaku Lifestyle store. Anime DVDs, Manga, COPIC, Figures, Hobby! (view on Google Sidewiki)